News

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Visits Menin Gate Memorial

11 November 2013

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh attended a special Last
Post ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Menin
Gate Memorial, on Monday 11 November 2013. The visit marked the
gathering of soil from Flanders Fields for a memorial garden at the
Guards Museum in London.

His Royal Highness was welcomed to the Menin Gate Memorial
by CWGC Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sir William Rollo KCB CBE.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is Senior Colonel, Household Division and
Colonel, Grenadier Guards.

The Centenary Memorial Garden at Wellington Barracks is being
created to commemorate those who fought and lost their lives during
the Great War. It is a joint initiative between the Government of
Flanders and the Guards Museum in London.

With the help of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission,
schoolchildren from Belgium have visited the 70 battlefields where
Guardsmen fought and died. During a special and poignant visit to
our cemeteries, the children have also been provided with a
symbolic sample of soil from the adjacent cemeteries. The soil will
be used in the garden at Wellington barracks in London.

The Commission's Media and Marketing Manager Peter Francis said,
"Engaging a new generation in the sacrifices made during the First
World War is a vital part of ensuring that remembrance of the war
dead is on-going. We were pleased to be able to support this
initiative and the response of the schools involved was
excellent."